New Troy Bilt

So I did quite a bit of homework on lawn mowers and finally made a decision. I went with a Troy-Bilt TB350XP self-propelled with 21 inch cutting width from Amazon.com. I just couldn't find the thing locally and the shipping price with my Amazon Prime membership can't be beat. It arrived in two days in a pretty sturdy box:

I was surprised at how little packaging there was inside the box. No styrofoam or molded casings at all

But there was plastic around the top of the engine to keep that fire-engine red unscathed from transport

Putting it together took maybe 10 minutes, but reading the manual took half an hour:

I love how accessible the replacement parts are on this engine. The filter is literally one wing nut screw away from being replaced:

My first time out I felt like I was damn near jogging to keep up with it. It cut very clean and was extremely pleasant to use. The grips, while oddly shaped, were very comfortable. It started on the first pull. The packaging included the unit, plus a quart of oil for it. The blade was sharp and I discovered it had a built in deck wash as well. You simply screw on a water hose, turn on the engine, and turn on the water. It get's rid of all the clippings without having to flip the engine on its side. So far, I'm one happy customer.